100% Design anniversary features

New product design and manufacturing company, ‘Bright’, will be helping to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the 100% Design Exhibition in the UK by erecting some of their new origami style, flat-pack, geodesic buildings’ made from Spectar sheet inside Earls Court as key features at this year’s event.

These ‘buildings’ are based on a revolutionary concept in semi-permanent spatial design. The product is designed by the team at ‘Bright’ which includes designer Nick Gant – who is perhaps better known as director of award winning design consultancy and regular 100% Design exhibitor, BoBo.

Spectar sheet is a transparent copolyester panel with very high impact resistance, used in many indoor and outdoor applications. The resin is manufactured by Eastman Specialty Plastics and Spectar sheet is produced exclusively by Barlo Plastics – Europe’s leading manufacturer of extruded sheet products.

According to Nick Gant, Spectar sheet is an excellent material to address the needs of designers and fabricators. Designers will benefit from the high quality image and tremendous - not yet fully explored - design freedom, whilst fabricators will enjoy the product's better secondary fabrication characteristics. Gant explains: “The ‘Bright building’ is a flexible and versatile structure that relies on nothing other than folded sheet material to create a beautiful architectural form that is quick and easy to erect. It is incredibly strong and has no need for complex or expensive frameworks or supporting structures. The product is aimed at any individual or company who needs an interior or exterior space perhaps as a promotional or exhibition area or a place for parties and socialising.
The product is also designed to be particularly practical as a contemporary greenhouse. The ‘building’ can be made from transparent, translucent or opaque panels, or a mixture of finishes – with a choice of robust Spectar sheet for durable use or other materials such as cardboard for disposable use.”

Spectar sheet is easy to fabricate allowing greater design freedom. It can be vacuum-formed at lower temperatures than other plastics without the need to pre-dry the sheet.

Spectar sheet can be routed, welded, drilled, die-punched, bent hot or cold, or joined by screws, rivets, or bolts. It can also be cut on conventional table, band, or radial-arm saws. It accepts screen-printing, painting, and hot-stamping easily. Surface scratches or scuff marks can be removed using a heat gun, whilst even strong cleaning solutions will not turn Spectar sheet white, making it suitable for urban environments where graffiti can be a problem.

Barlo Plastics supplied sheet to UK distributor Plastics Plus Ltd. Working to a tight cutting plan, Plastics Plus quickly turned the work around to allow construction of the buildings to commence with time to spare, according to Gant.